Trace of Amity
by flowersparks
Summary: They were in Junior High. They were foolish. They were care about each other. They were always together. They were friends. This was their story.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN KUROKO NO BASKET**

**Special thanks to my beta-reader ミタ**

**Genre: **Friendship, drama-ish

**Pairing: **I don't think there will be any pairing because I'm focusing on their friendship (but hey you're free to make assumption!)

Somehow the summary and the first page made this fic looked like a very gloomy and angst one. But don't worry it's not. I hope. _No it's not..._

A little bit OC-centric in the beginning.

And there are lots of error -.- i will fix it later

* * *

"_For everything you have missed, you have gained something else,_

_and for everything you gain, you lose something else."_

-Ralph Waldo Emerson-

* * *

It was snowing. Even though the weather report that morning didn't mention anything about it, somehow she already knew it would snow. That's why she decided to wear a hat and gloves before leaving her house. Taking a walk in this weather wasn't a good idea, especially when your body was not cooperative when it came to cold weather. But she had enough of staying-at-home-doing-nothing time. Had enough of the gloomy aura. She just wanted to clear her minds and a walk might have done her favor.

Outside the house everything looked the same; white, dull, and pretty at the same time.

She decided to visit the park where they had used to go together. No one was there. Not even an animal.

She sat on the swing and looked up to the sky, trying to remember what they had been through all these 2 and half years. Not all of them were happy memories; there were also sad and bitter moments. She didn't mind them. After all, life was boring if there weren't any twists.

But she never imagined it would turn out like this; where they had to separate. Each of them walked on their own path with no contact at all as if they had never walked on the same one before.

She held her ring-necklace with word 'faith' engraved'. 'Faith' seemed like a word she didn't understand now. Not after life decided to throw ultimate acid memories at her.

"Were my hopes too difficult to achieve?" she mumbled to herself. "Were they impossible?"

Closing her eyes, she suddenly recalled his words when he had given the ring to her, _"'Faith' makes things possible. Trust me; you can do everything if you have faith_."

"I can do everything huh?" she smiled and then stood up. "Looks like I do have to trust you and I hope you're right."

_Faith_


	2. Chapter 2 - It was a Sleepy Day

**CHAPTER 2**

**It Was a Sleepy Day**

Morning had always been her enemy since elementary school. She couldn't believe she had used to enjoy waking up early just to go to school. Well, kindergarten students had nothing to think about except playing all day. But being in junior high school meant you had to deal with your study, teachers, students, and after school clubs. It's a mandatory in Teikou Junior High to join an after school club (_darn!). _And also, their 'Ever-Victorious' motto made the clubs a living hell for all of them (who had no choice but to join).

Her alarm clock started ringing and she had this urge to slam it to the wall. She wanted to but (unfortunately) couldn't. She turned it off and covered herself with blanket, "5 minutes. 5 more minutes I promise I'll wake up."

Suddenly someone knocked her door and before she could let the stranger in, Narita Eri opened it and started talking, "Wake up young lady. Don't go back to sleep. You have a school to attend!"

"How do you even know I'm going to sleep again? Are you a psychic?" she popped up from the blanket.

"I've been your Mom for almost 13 years, dear. At this point, I know what will happen to my daughter after she stayed up all night watching TV right before school days." Her Mom answered as she pulled the blanket. "Open your eyes!"

"I've opened my eyes Mom. I just have no energy to move my body. 5 minutes more, okay?", she lay still.

"Not okay dear. Last time you said so you fell asleep for 2 hours and I had to make an excuse to your teacher so he could let you attend the class."

Yes she did remember that one; had stayed up late even though the next morning she had had a class with the strictest teacher in Teikou, Nakamura-sensei. Once he had not let one of the student attend his class because she had been wearing (a very thin) eyeliner. How could he possibly saw that anyway?

So when she showed up late in front of the class, she didn't believe that Nakamura-sensei actually let her take her seat and attend the class like other students. Her friends asked her how she did that and she could only say: "Lucky I guess. Maybe he's in a good mood."

But the fact that her Mom had had to lie so she could have attended the class bothered her a lot. She promised to herself she wouldn't let her family covered for her. She could take care of herself.

"What did you say to him that time?"

"I said you had an urgent diarrhea in the morning," replied her Mother casually.

"WHAT?" she sat up immediately when she heard her Mom's answer.

"Just joking. Since now you have the energy to move, I suggest that you wash your face and go downstairs to have your breakfast."

"Seriously Mom, what did you say to him?"

"Nothing you have to worry about honey. I said to him that someone stole your precious stuffed bunny." Her Mom walked to the door. "And you spent the morning by spreading flyers around our neighborhood to look for it"

"MOM!" she yelled now.

"See? You have a lot of energy. Relax. I said that you have to go to your Father's office first because he forgot his important document for his meeting." Her Mom walked out her room and closed the door behind her.

She sighed and was about to lie down on the bed again when she heard her Mom's voice from the outside of her room "Don't you lie down again!"

"Ugh she _is_ a psychic."

It took her about 20 minutes to prepare herself (washing her face, wearing the uniform, combing her hair and wearing a bandana as usual; today was pink) before she went downstairs to had her breakfast in the dining room. Everyone was already sat around the dining table.

"Mhoarnin'…" she said while yawning.

"Good morning. Finally Princess Snow White woke up from her deep slumber eh?" said Narita Hiro, her father. It looked like he already finished his breakfast and now he was reading a newspaper. "How was your sleep Princess?"

"I woke up 20 minutes ago Dad," she sat on the dining chair. "And don't call me 'Princess'. You know I hate that."

"But you're the one who asked me to call you 'Princess' first."

"I was 4 years old. In case you don't notice, it's almost 8 years ago. I don't like that nickname anymore."

"Someone sure is in a good mood this morning," said Narita Hatsuyuki, her older sister. "Are you in your cycle?".

Before she could reply the older girl, her Mom put a plate of pancakes in front of her. "Don't start bickering. Eat this and then go to school. Hatsuyuki, if you've finished, go now."

"Aw Mom, you don't want to see me here again? I thought you said I couldn't get my own place even after I graduated." Hatsuyuki faked sad face.

"I meant to school. We've talked about this, Hatsuyuki. Don't bring that up again," said Mom.

"Why don't you just let her have her own place? So I can have her room."

"Thank you very much for your sincere support little sister," Hatsuyuki said to her sister.

"Enough. Hatsuyuki, go now. I thought yesterday you said you're going to go to the shrine with Naru-chan before school," Mom cut in again before they started to argue.

"Oh God you're right! Naru is going to kill me if I show up late. I'll go now. Bye!" Hatsuyuki stormed out the dining room.

"You too, young lady. Finish your pancakes and go to school before you're late. I don't want to call your teacher saying you don't want to go to school because you haven't done your homework which I believe you've done it right?" her Mom said while cleaning up Hatsuyuki's plates.

"How many excuses have you been creating Mom?" she sliced her pancakes.

"Hundreds and each days those excuses become more creative. You don't want me to use those excuses, honey. The new one has an alien involved"

"You're _really_ an amazing writer."

She finished her pancakes about 15 minutes later. A little bit slower than usual because her Dad talked about his upcoming project and she tried her best to listen and gave her support. But due to her lack of sleep, she could only nod and understand about 30% of the conversation. It involved something about 'sponsorship', 'advertising' and 'sport'. Maybe her Dad was going to sponsor a club or something.

After bidding farewell to her parents, she went to school. Mr. Narita hadn't gone to the office due to the document of his new project that hadn't arrived ("It should have arrived yesterday night").

Teikou Junior High wasn't really far from her house; only 10 minutes by walk. Taking a bus could be another choice but walking was what she preferred. By walk, she could take a better look of her neighborhood without having to worry about interacting with other people.

She was walking (_really_) slowly when she heard a voice: "Excuse me." It was a boy's voice. She was sure no one was around because she didn't hear any footsteps. She stopped and then looked around. Indeed, she didn't see anyone there. "Must be my imagination", she mumbled.

When she was about to walk again, someone poked her arm from behind. "Excuse me," she heard that voice again. This time when she turned around, she saw a boy in Teikou's uniform. His hair was light blue colored, just like his eyes. His face was very blank; expressionless.

"Yes?" She tried to make her voice even, hiding her surprise. "What is it?"

"I didn't mean to bother you, but if you take another step you'll fall into that hole."

He was right. She must have been half sleepwalking she didn't even saw the hole. And why weren't there any safety line around the hole? What if someone did fall into it?

"That was very close. Thank y-." She turned around to thank the boy but he was nowhere to be seen.

_I must not drink milk tea before I go to school. __Apparently it gives me a hallucination._

After that, the girl tried her best to keep awake while walking to the school without having to fell into a hole or crashing into an unanimated thing on the street. Luckily, despite all the circumstances she had this morning, she managed to arrive at Teikou Junior High 10 minutes before the bell ringing.

When she was walking to her class in the edge of the hall (this time she tried not to bump into other students), someone tapped her shoulder. She turned around as quick as she could.

"Whoa slow down girl. Are you imitating The Flash or something?" said the boy behind her.

"Oh it's just you Hajime." She remarked.

"What do you mean 'it's just you'? And have you seen yourself in the mirror? You looked like you haven't sleep for a week or two."

Tanaka Hajime had been her pal since Elementary School. No he wasn't her boyfriend. Not exactly her best friend either. But Tanaka was a friend whom she could get along with (which was a very rare case since she wasn't the friendly type) and trust.

"Nothing," She wondered if the boy she saw this morning was undeniably her hallucination. "I didn't get enough sleep last night. That's all."

"You should stop stayed up all night right before Nakamura's class." was all he said, catching up to her side and walking to their class.

Most of the students of class 1-D had come. Tanaka greeted other students while she slightly bowed her head politely. They walked to their seats in the back of the class. A girl with pink hair sat there. "Good morning guys," the pink-headed girl greeted them when they approached their seats.

"Good morning, Momo- whoa…. Why your face all red? Seriously girls, you might want to consider about school days before you're doing stuffs at night." Tanaka was taken aback by Momoi Satsuki's red face.

"Don't say weird things Tana-chan," Momoi replied. "I'm a little bit dizzy. I think I catch a cold. I wrote a report for our coach until past midnight."

"Will you ever stop calling me that?" he questioned as he put his bag on his desk.

"You know I won't."

"Fine. But Momoi, you should go to the infirmary or even go home. You really don't look well."

"I can't. I have to give the report to our basketball coach on lunch break and I have stuffs to do in the club. Even though I do really need to take a nap and a medicine as well. I think I've been seeing spots around my eyes. And also, I don't know if this is due to my condition or your face _does _look awful? Are you okay?", Momoi asked the girl who came in with Tanaka.

Before she could responded, Tanaka answered it for her "Lack of sleep, she'll survive with a can of coffee. It's her fault anyway. Just kidding (he grinned). What about asking others' help? I thought basketball club has more of you. And by 'you' I mean managers."

"Can't do. Other managers have to go to other schools to talk about the upcoming tournament. And I can't ask for the members' help. They have intensive practice today." Momoi frowned.

"I'd love to help you out but I have soccer practice after school." said Tanaka.

"You've been practicing a lot lately," Momoi replied.

"I_ always_ practice a lot," he protested.

"No you don't. You just have started practice every day ever since we had the P.E. class with 1-C and you saw how that blonde hair guy played soccer," retorted the other girl. She put her bag on the desk and then took her seat.

"You don't get it. I just don't understand how-"

"_'-a rookie with that pretty face and super bright hair color can play like he's been playing much longer than I have',_" Momoi imitated Tanaka perfectly.

"We get it. You've mentioned it once," the girl with pink bandana continued.

"Or twice," added Momoi

"Or every day," the other girl added more. She smirked.

"I'm telling you that guy is not-"

"_'-normal'_ yes we get it Hajime."

"Okay back to Momoi," he said in defeat. "Maybe you could ask _the ice princess_ here to help you. I don't think she has anything to do after school. Kyuudo club is on a break, isn't it? They had to renovate the floor I heard?"

"Is it too much for you? You only have to give the report I wrote to Shirogane-san, buy drinks for the first strings, and take the laundry. Other things can be handled other time."

"I supposed I can do that," answered the girl.

"Oh thank you very much Shirayuki-hime.. I mean Shira-chan" Momoi smiled.

* * *

Somehow Shirayuki survived the first (Nakamura's class was pretty intense because one of her classmate was late and *as expected* he didn't let the student join the class even after he scolded him in front of the class for about 10 minutes. She had to thank her Mom after school for not letting her sleep again this morning) and second class with difficulty.

Momoi had gone home after Nakamura's class. She had given Shirayuki the report and a piece of paper with her to-do list on it.

* * *

_Shira-chan's to-do list as today's basketball manager :_

_Give the report to our coach; Shirogane-san. The captain just texted me saying that coach wouldn't be present at lunch break, so you can give him the report at today's practice_

_Buy drinks for the first strings (the second and third strings already got theirs). 15 bottles of 600ml Ozone. Asked Midorima-kun to give you the money (just look for a green-haired guy who holds weird things with him. You'll see)_

_Take out laundry from the locker room and put them in the laundry room. The locker room is unlocked and you can find laundry room key under the doormat in front of the laundry room._

_39 Shira-chan :3_

_PS: Please tell Dai-chan I'm okay_

* * *

The tasks Momoi asked her to do weren't that hard and she didn't mind them. She just wanted to finish them as soon as possible so she could sleep.

Yes she had made it until lunch break but it didn't mean she didn't feel sleepy anymore. In fact, she was at her limit. She didn't think she could do it again without coffee. Not if she wanted to stay awake in class and helped Momoi.

"A can of coffee and I'll be fine", she told herself. "No need to worry."

But apparently God had another plan.

"I'm sorry but we run out of coffee," the cafeteria lady told her.

She had bought lunch and since coffee was usually left a lot in the cafeteria, she had intended to buy it after she finished her lunch. She regretted it.

After finished her lunch at the cafeteria, she went to the toilet, washed her face (the cold water did her a little favor. She felt freshened a bit. Still sleepy though) and then back to her class. Tanaka was at his seat, chatting with the girl who sat beside him, Kimura Aya.

Shirayuki walked to her seat which located in front of him. "Hajime," she called. "I need your help."

He stopped chatting with Kimura (she glared at Shirayuki but she didn't notice) and looked up to her. "What kind of help?" he replied.

Shirayuki explained how she couldn't get coffee and most likely would fell asleep in the class if nothing distracted her. "Any suggestion?" she asked him after the explanation. The result was Tanaka's so-called-brilliant idea to keep poking her with a ruler during the class. Effective but very dangerous. Many times Shirayuki almost gasped loudly in surprise. This forced Shirayuki to stay awake so she didn't make any slightest sound.

After she tried to stay awake for 2 hours (but she swore it felt like 6 hours) finally the class was over.  
"Thank you for the poking thing Hajime. However, please remind me to not ask you to do this again", she turned to her back, facing Tanaka. Frowned.

"You're welcome," he grinned. "Are you going to the basketball gym then?"

"Yeah, I need to finish it as soon as possible. I can hear my bed calling for me," she replied.

"Alright, have fun with your chores!" he jogged out the class. Seemed like he really can't wait to exercise with the soccer club. The blonde hair guy's skill must have intimidated him a lot because soccer was his pride.

_Boys and their pride_. She chuckled.

"Okay what should I do again? Report, drinks, and the laundry. Right" she reminded herself.

Teikou basketball gym was located near the soccer field. She didn't know much about the club. Well she didn't know much about any other clubs aside from her Kyuudo club actually. But one thing she was sure about the basketball club was it was the strongest among all Junior High basketball club.

They _always _won.

They even had more than 100 members. Her club only had 15.

She entered the gym and saw the members practiced. The gym was full with the sounds of basketball dribble and shoes squeaking.

A boy walked towards her, "I'm sorry but this gym is for basketball club members only."

"Yes, I'm looking fo-"

"Narita!"

"Ah Aomine-kun."

Aomine Daiki, Momoi's childhood friend walked towards them.

"It's okay Koshino. I know her," he said to the previous guy. "What are you doing here?" the dark-skinned guy asked her.

"I'm doing Momoi's favor. She went home because she's sick, but she's okay," she said quickly when she saw Aomine's face expression changed. "I'm helping her out with her manager's chores."

"Damn it. That's' why she didn't want to look at me when we were walking to school this morning. I should have known."

"She didn't want you to worry. She said you guys have an intensive practice today. Besides, it's nothing serious I think. She only needed to sleep and drink a cold medicine. Don't worry," she tried to reassure him.

"Yeah, you're right. So what has she asked you to do?"

"First of all I need to give this report to your coach. Where can I find him?"

"Coach Shirogane? He's right there. You see a man who wears a black suit on the side of the court? Yeah? The one who talked with our captain, Nijimura-senpai? That's our coach. Shirogane-san." He pointed to 2 persons who stand on the side of the court.

"Oh that one? Ok I shall give it to him. Thank you Aomine-kun."

"No problem. See you around then!"

She walked to reach coach Shirogane.

"Excuse me Sir," she said to Shirogane. "My name is Narita and I'm Momoi Satsuki's classmate. She can't come to the club today. I'm here to give you the report and do some club chores in her place."

"Oh yes Nijimura just told me about Momoi's absence," he glanced to the guy next to him. "We appreciate your help."

She handed him the report and walked out the gym.

One down, 2 more to go.

"What's next?"

She reached her pocket to read the piece of paper Momoi gave her but she couldn't find it. Must have fell out when she paid her lunch. She tried to remember what her next chores were.

"Report, buy drinks and laundry," she recalled. "But I think something is missing. What is it..."

Even though she had tried to remember, she couldn't find out what's missing from her recollection of the chores.

"Oh well, I'll found them out later," she walked to the nearest convenience store from Teikou.

When she was standing in front of the cashier to pay for the items she had put into the trolley (15 bottles of 600ml Ozone and a can of coffee for her), it hit her. The thing she forgot: money.

She should have asked for money to someone named Midorima to buy these drinks.

Geez, how could she forgot the crucial thing to pay something she (read: the club) needed. And now she didn't know what to do. The money in her wallet wouldn't suffice and she didn't think the items could be cancelled.

She blamed her lack of sleep state.

No other choice, she had to try to talked to the cashier lady in order to cancel her items. She was about to talk when someone walked to her side and gave money to the cashier lady.

That person was a green-haired boy who wore glasses and (she narrowed her eyes) was holding a flask. If she was right, then he must be...

"Midorima Shintaro. I'm in the basketball club. You were supposed to ask me for the money before you buy these drinks," he sounded annoyed. His tone irritated her but she didn't say anything. It was indeed her fault.

They walked back to Teikou, carrying the drinks. She had drink her coffee; 15% of her energy restored.

"Thank you and sorry Midorima-kun," she started. It was amazing how a can of coffee could lift her mood.

"What for?"

"Catching up with me and missed your intensive training."

"I already finished mine. Shooting is my specialty."

She kept staring at the thing he was holding. Midorima noticed and asked: "Are you going to ask me why I'm holding this flask?"

"Yes. So why?"

"This is my lucky item for today."

"Weird but it's your rights, not going to comment more. Actually I'm more interested to know how you knew about me."

"About you?"

"I mean, how did you know I'm the one who's going to buy the drinks? How did you find me?"

"He asked me to. He said you're replacing Momoi's job today but you forgot asking the money from me. And I recognize you because your face is on the wall magazine. Congratulations by the way."

It was true that her face was on the wall magazine. She had won junior high kyuudo tournament that was held a week ago. Of course she was happy for winning the tournament, but wasn't when she saw her face on the wall magazine.

"Thanks."

She thought the person that Midorima talked about was either Aomine, Coach Shirogane, or Captain Nijimura because they were the only one knows about her doing Momoi's job.

But 'he' was neither of them.

* * *

Momoi Satsuki was a clever girl. Her academic score was great. Her managerial skill was often praised by the coach. She loved doing her things. She loved interacting with other people.

Being in bed doing nothing was something she hated.

She went home after Nakamura's class. After taking medicine, she fell asleep and woke up at noon. She already felt better.

_Oh no, I should have replied Nijimura–senpai's text this morning. I should tell him about my absence and Shira._

Her phone was on top of the desk beside her bed. She grabbed it and started to write to Nijimura.

_I better send a text to him too._

After sending the text to two members of the basketball club, she felt sleepy again and dozed off. She hated doing nothing, but only today she wanted to sleep all day.

* * *

Today was a sleepy day for Momoi Satsuki and Narita Shirayuki. But due to different reasons.

And different from Momoi, the latter still had stuffs to deal with.

Including him.

* * *

**A.N.**

Thank you very much for reading. Reviews and suggestion are rainbows

Signing out,

flowers


	3. Chapter 3 - The Dancer in The Stress

**I still don't own Kuroko no Basket**

**still thanking my beta reader **ミタ

Keep reading if you're questioning the title of this chapter :P

* * *

**CHAPTER 3**

**The Dancer in The Stress**

(6:27 pm)

_Tick, tock, tick, tock_

It was very quiet in her room. The ticking sound of her clock was the only thing she heard. There was no sound from the outside, maybe her parents went out to give her a quiet atmosphere. They were very surprised when she went back home from the school that morning. She rarely got sick.

Momoi Satsuki laystill on her bed, staring at the ceiling since 5 minutes ago. That was the best sleep she had these past 3 weeks. With all her homework, basketball club and not to mention taking care (read: tutoring, supervising, and checking) of her childhood friend, she barely had 4 hours of a sleep a day.

Momoi grabbed her phone from top of the desk beside her bed. There was 1 unread message.

**From:** Dai-chan  
**Subject:** oi!  
_Oi Satsuki, you should have told me if you're feeling sick! I could have walked you home._

A smile curved on her face.

_That's the reason why I didn't want to tell you, dummy. You'll be worried and even missed your basketball__practice._

She wanted to send a text to Shirayuki but her phone was in service since 2 days ago (courtesy of Tanaka who accidentally dropped it into a cup of instant noodles. Long story).

_I wonder how she was doing today_

(6:30pm)

_Tick, tock, tick, tock_

The ticking sound of the clock at the wall was the only thing that accompanied her. Yes, it's a quiet night as well.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me!" she half yelled.

Narita Shirayuki was in the laundry room, Teikou basketball gymnasium.

Alone.

And she was locked in there.

* * *

(about 3 hours earlier)

From the way he talked and stared at you, you might think a guy like Midorima Shintaro was a very cold and an arrogant. He would only speak a few words _if necessary_.

At least, that's what she thought about him 10 minutes ago after he approached her at the convenience store.

But guess what? Once you pressed the right button, _he talked_.

Oh yes he did talk.

_Non-stop_.

It happened after Shirayuki asked about his luck with the horoscope until today. She was just trying to be polite by starting a conversation while they walked back to Teikou from the convenience store. She was not the chitchat type but he had helped her after all, a bit of talk to break the silence wouldn't hurt.

_She thought_.

He didn't only talk non-stop about his horoscope; he also criticized Shirayuki who never paid attention to hers.

"…didn't bother me but still have to grab the broom as soon as possible otherwise I won't be able to pass the test," he explained the 3th (or 5th? She didn't know) story. "And of course in the end I did past the test with a good score."

Her inner self was _this_ close to say: _"Really? You passed a test because you grabbed a broom? What would have happened if your lucky item was a burning coal?"_

But successfully restrained herself for saying so and instead she just responded softly: "Oh... That was…great…"

"People need to read more about their daily horoscope. I guarantee their life would be much easier."

"If you said so."

"_My experiences_ said so," he said proudly.

_Have you ever heard about the power of suggestion?_

She sighed.

* * *

Intensive (shooting) practice went slow. As a player who loved basketball very much, Aomine Daiki preferred to have a match where he could run dribble the ball, pass his opponents, and score.

What's the point of shooting practice if you can't even run in the court?

They had been practicing shooting about 1 hour and he already scored more than 300 points. Eventhough so, he still couldn't beat the three-pointer shooter Midorima_—_whom speaking of which he couldn't find anywhere.

"Hey Murasakibara!" he called the purple-haired boy who stood not far from him. "Where is Midorima?"

"Mido-chin? He went after the girl who bought drinks for us," Murasakibara Atsushi answered while shooting a ball to the ring. It went in.

"A girl? Did you mean Narita?" Aomine asked again. He dribbled a ball before shoot it to the ring. It also went in.

"Maybe," Murasakibara replied shortly. Obviously he wasn't very interested in this topic.

Aomine looked at the clock on the west wall, "But it's almost 4 o'clock. Where the heck are they?"

As on cue, the gym door opened. Presented Shirayuki and Midorima. Both looked gloomy but only one of them looked (super) exhausted and covered in something chocolate colored.

"_WE'RE TAKING A BREAK,_" a guy announced from the side of the court.

Aomine jogged to Shirayuki and Midorima.

"What happened to you?" he questioned the girl. Her uniform was covered in chocolate stain (she also smelled like one). "Fell into a pool of chocolate? But how come Midorima is clean?"

"Close enough. I bumped into a kid who was holding a glass of chocolate milk shake. The kid was okay, her milk shake didn't; spilled right into me," she explained. "She cried really loud and screamed something like 'you spilled my drinks' over and over. It caused a scene. We had to buy an ice cream to make her stop crying."

"That was all because you were sleep walking," Midorima retorted. "If only you were holding your lucky it-"

"Yeah, thank you for the warning anyway. It helped me," she cut in while fauxing a smile.

"You were walking behind me. How am I supposed to know you weren't paying attention to the road," he replied abruptly. "And I can't believe you _really_ sleep walking _while _carrying a bag of drinks."

"I can't believe you're _still_ carrying _that_ flask since morning," she retorted, pointing at the thing Midorima held.

"I can't believe you two are best friend _already_," Aomine interjected, clearly amused by the argument between Midorima and Shirayuki.

"WE'RE NOT," said by the two of them at the same time to Aomine.

"SHUT UP!" this time to each other.

Aomine looked like he was about to laugh.

"I'll take it from here. You better cleanup yourself. Wash your clothes now or the stain won't come off," Midorima took he plastic bag she was holding and walked to where other members gathered.

"He was actually pretty okay if only he didn't talk as if several items have this _divine power_," she said to Aomine while watching Midorima distributed the drinks to other members. "The crying kid I told you about? I couldn't calm her, but he could."

"Hmm? I never saw him deal with kids before," Aomine responded. "Do you still have any chores to do?"

"Yes, I should take out the laundry from the locker room and put them in the laundry room."

"Okay, you should cleanup yourself as well. Look at you, even your skirt is dirty," he glanced at her skirt that also got chocolate stain on it. "Come on, I'll lend you mine."

"You have a skirt?" her eyes widened. "I don't know you have that kind of hobby."

He laughed at that. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm talking about spare clothes."

Aomine walked first and she followed him. She glanced around the gym, some of the members were looking at them.

"This is the locker room," Aomine stated. They arrived in front of a gray door.

"This is the locker room for 100 people? Look a bit small from the outside."

"100?"

"Aren't there 100 basketball club members?"

"Yeah that's true but this gym is only for the first string, hence this locker room," he explained while opening the door. "But there is only one laundry room though and it's in this gym."

Shirayuki never knew this gym was only for the first string. There was more than 1 basketball gym? Heck, she also didn't even know they were divided into more than 1 string.

_This club is too complicated_

Turned out the locker room was not exactly like she imagined before. The room was clean and tidy. Gray lockers lined neatly on the wall. In the middle of the room there was a long red bench.

"You know, when Momoi wrote about 'took out the laundry from the locker room', I imagined I have to collect dirty clothes and towels scattered on the floor," she walked inside, looking around the room.

Aomine who was standing in front of (she guessed) his locker turned his head to face her, "Really? What made you think that?"

"I don't know. Maybe because boys has this 'messy' image?"

"We might be boys but we're not that messy," he chuckled and right when he opened his locker, a pile of magazines fell to his foot. "_Shit!_"

She looked at the magazines, "And you were saying?"

"These aren't mine," he tried to convince her. "I _swear_. Damn it Koshino. I've told him not to put his magazines in my locker."

He took out a black shirt and short pants and put the magazines in other locker; probably Koshino's.

"The basket of dirty clothes is on the corner there," he pointed to the back of the room. "They're piling up. I'll help you carry it. Take this. You can change while I go to the laundry room."

"I can take it from here Aomine-kun. What's the point of me doing Momoi's favor if you missed your practice because you're helping me," Shirayuki took clothes offered by Aomine.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'll change in the laundry room, I don't want someone suddenly barge in when I changed here. I'll feel safer there; I can lock it from the inside," she walked to grab the basket. "I'll return your clothes tomorrow after I wash them. Where's the laundry room?"

"Alright. Turn left when you walk out from this room. Walk straight until you found a golden cat statue _—_which is not made from pure gold if you're wondering_—_the laundry room is right beside it," he explained.

"Got it."

"Be sure to go home as soon as possible," he suddenly looked serious."There are a lot of criminal recently. They pretended as their victim's acquaintance and when the victim's unguarded they robbed them."

"I will. Thanks."

Then he walked out from the locker room, leaving Shirayuki alone.

Aomine was right; the dirty clothes had piled up. But she didn't want to do a two way trip, so she put the clothes Aomine lent her at the top of the pile, grab the basket with all her strength and lifted it.

The weight of this basket must have been around 5kg. She did not understand how the members of the club could cause as much dirty clothes and towels like this.

_Did they have some kind of military training here?_

The load that she carried made the trip from the locker room to the laundry room feel very far; although not as far as the way to Teikou from the convenience store with Midorima ('horoscope' had been dropped from the list of topics of conversation if she met Midorima again).

She found the golden cat statue Aomine mentioned earlier (it did look like it was made of pure gold) and beside it there was a door made of blurry glass. You couldn't clearly see the inside of the room but you could know that the lights in the room were not lit.

She put the basket on the floor and took the key under the doormat in front of the door. She unlocked the door and opened it.

The room was dark; she tried to find the button to turn on the lights. She found a switch beside the door and turned on the lights. She went outside the room to grab the basket and put it beside the washing machine and then locked the door.

Shirayuki undressed her uniform, tossed it to the washing machine and wore the clothes that had been lent to her.

"The detergent must be here somewhere," she looked around the room and found the one she was looking for in the cupboard.

After pouring adequate amount of detergent, she turned on the washing machine.

She sat in a chair waiting for her uniform. Exhausted. Her energy was already drained to 2%.

* * *

(6:16pm)

"I'm home!" he closed the sliding door behind him.

"Brother has come home! Brother has come home!" A little girl came out from somewhere around the house and ran to the guy who just entered. "Welcome back!"

She jumped and then hugged his left leg. Amused by her action, Midorima patted his young sister's head. Like Midorima, she also had green hair; only lighter colored.

"Hello Mayuka, how was your school today?" he asked his sister who had lifted her head, showed her chubby and red cheeks that reminded him of apples.

"I had an art class today. We drew a cat. It was very fun!" she explained while they walked in. She held his hand and swing it like she always did. "But this boy in my class, Masato, said mine looked like a mouse and I didn't have any talent for drawings. Hmph..."

She looked annoyed and puffed her cheek. That's her habit when she's upset. He called it mafugu mode; Mayuka Fugu or Mayuka the puffer fish.

_When I visit her school, I will teach him a lesson_

"Don't be upset Mayuka. I've seen your drawing and they're good. Don't let him make you think otherwise." he assured her, patted her head again.

By hearing his words, her face lighted up and she smiled brightly. "I'll show it to you later, brother!" she cheered.

The dinner for him was already prepared on the dining table; tonight was omelet rice.

Mayuka asked her brother: "How's the flask? Did it help you? Did something good happen?"

It was a ritual between Midorima and his sister. After he found out what's his lucky item for the day, he would tell his sister what it was (If she didn't understand the word, he would describe it for her). And then his sister would run around the house looking for the thing. Some sort of game for the two of them. Also, it was a good way to teach her new things.

"I was with someone when she got into this unfortunate event. I guess that's my luck; didn't get into the unfortunate event," he said while washing his hands on the sink.

"Oooooh is she the 'dancer in the stress' then?" Mayuka's eyes beamed.

"It's _damsel in distress_. But yes she might be it."

He recalled his daily horoscope he read this morning.

* * *

(6:25pm)

She yawned.

That was a good sleep. After did all Momoi's chores, a good sleep was all she need.

Wait

Momoi's chores

A good sleep?

Shirayuki fully opened her eyes and realized that she was still in the laundry room. And the room was pretty dark, the lights were turned off. Apparently she fell asleep while sitting on the chair.

"Who turned it off?" she switched on the light again. "Did somebody get in? But I'm pretty sure I've locked the door."

She looked at the door knob and indeed the key was still on the keyhole.

"Maybe I was the one turned them off," she assured herself eventhough she didn't very convinced.

Her uniform was already finished being washed but since they were still wet, she put them into a plastic bag she found in the room earlier.

She looked at her watch; it was 6:27pm.

She unlocked the door and turned the knob but the door didn't open. She tried to turn the knob to a different direction, but the door still didn't open.

It's jammed.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me!" she half yelled.

* * *

(7:15pm)

After taking bath and had dinner, Momoi went to her room and then grabbed her phone and dialed the guy's phone whose message had not been replied.

"Hello Dai-chan?" she asked after the person she called picked it up.

"No, you've reached the Police Station," said the interlocutor.

"Officer, I'd like to talk to one of your prisoner. It's easy to find him, he's the dumbest of all," she said while sitting on the edge of her bed."Idiot. I'm already fine now, thank you for asking."

"Next time just tell me when you're not feeling well Satsuki."

"I will," she smiled eventhough Aomine couldn't see her. "How was the practice?"

"It went well. Still can't beat Midorima's scores though. That dude is a crazy shooter. Don't tell him I said that."

"Hahaha… Don't worry, I won't."

"Speaking of Midorima, today Narita had a little problem when she went to the convenience store with him," he said. "Long story short: chocolate stain situation. But I already lent her my clothes."

"Please don't tell me she changed in the locker room. What if someone peek her?"

"Relax. She changed in the laundry room."

"Oh glad to hear that," she sounded relieved. "But you've told her not to lock it from the inside haven't you?"

"Eh? Why?" Aomine asked, puzzled.

"Because if you locked it from the inside the lock will be jammed and it can only open with some help from the outside! I was locked in there a week ago remember?"

"But I've checked the laundry room before I left. The light was turned o-, _oh shit_."

"That's right _genius_; the light in the laundry room _always_ automatically turned off after 15 minutes."

* * *

(7:15pm)

When you were trapped in a laundry room alone, there was nothing you could do (_duh!_). The room had no window; she couldn't see outside. She had no phone with her; she couldn't call anyone. She only had her books in the bag. No, she was definitely not in the mood to study.

Shirayuki was singing Perfume's Spending All My Time (the only song that she memorized because basically she just needed to repeat the phrase 'spending all my time loving you') —God only knew how long— when someone knocked on the door.

_Knocked, knocked_

Surprised, Shirayuki got up from her seat.

"Is somebody in there?" a guy's voice called from the outside.

"Yes!" she called.

"Are you the girl who bought the drinks?"

"That's me!" she replied. "I'm locked in here. I don't know what went wrong with the key. Can you help me out?"

"Did you lock it from the inside?" he asked.

"Rrrr… I did." she answered.

"I see. The door can only be opened if the knob is turned from the outside and inside at the same time. So turn it at 3 okay? 1..2..-"

_"There are a lot of criminal recently."_

"WAIT!" she suddenly realized. "How am I supposed to know that you're not a criminal?"

There was a pause before the person outside asked back: "Come again?"

"I can't see you so I can't tell your appearance," she tried to explain her concerns. "There are a lot of crimes recently. I'd rather stay here until morning than encounter a criminal at night you know."

Silence

"Hello? Are you still there?" she asked.

"I'm a friend of Momoi Satsuki," the person replied.

_"They pretended as their victim's acquaintance."_

"Not good enough," she remarked.

"My name is Akashi Seijuro. I'm a member of the basketball club," he continued. "Do you _trust_ me, Narita Shirayuki?"

There was something in his tone that made her bought his words. It was a persuasive yet a commanding tone.

Who is this guy?

Shirayuki considered a moment before answered: "I do."

"Okay, turn the knob at 3. One... Two… Three..."

She turned the knob and the door opened. In front of her, there was a guy who was wearing Teikou uniform. His hair was flaming red (okay she was just exaggerated it; it might due to the light) and his eyes were watching her.

"Well? Do you still think I'm a criminal?" he said. There was a humor in his tone this time.

"I'm still considering it," she replied coolly. "You can suddenly pull a knife from your bag, you know."

Both of them smiled.

"I see that you don't trust me," he saw her right hand that held an umbrella in an offensive pose.

"I do trust you, but not 100%," she admitted. "There's nothing wrong with being cautious."

That was right. Even though she decided to (half) trust him, she still grabbed the umbrella right before she turned the knob. _I don't want to encounter a stranger at night without a weapon to protect myself._

"Come on, it's dark already," he said. "I'll walk you home."

"How decorous of you," she replied while grabbing her things. "But you don't have to."

"I do actually," he said calmly. "After all, there are a lot of criminal lately."

The school looked really different at night. Her activities after school were either walked straight to home or went to kyuudou club. Either way, she never stayed at school later than 4pm.

"Do you mind to wait for a moment? I have to get something from class rep room," Akashi said while closing the gym door. "I'll meet you at the second gym."

"Um... Where's the second gym?" she asked.

"It's right beside this one."

"Okay," she replied.

Really. The second gym was right beside the first gym and she never noticed it.

Shirayuki walked to the next building and saw that the light was still on. Curiously, she opened the door and there was no one there but Aomine. He was on the phone.

Aomine noticed her and waved, "Come in Narita!"

She walked in and overheard Aomine talked to the phone: "She's okay Satsuki. She's standing here in front of me. Don't worry. Now just go to sleep again."

"Was that Momoi?" Shirayuki asked after Aomine hung up the phone. "How was she?"

"She's already getting better," he grinned. "Anyway, thank goodness you didn't lock that room."

"I did actually," she said. "I was locked in there about 2.5 hours. But I fell asleep for almost 2 hour so I only felt like I was locked for 45 minutes."

"Shit. I'm so sorry Narita," he apologized. "I totally forgot about that damn lock."

"It's fine. The important thing is I'm out already."

"Who helped you out? I thought all the members were already left."

"A guy named Akashi. Do you know him?"

"Akashi Seijurou? Yes he's in the team."

_Good, now I know he didn't lie._

"What are you doing here anyway? I thought the practice has already finished?"

Aomine was still wearing the clothes he wore in today's practice and from all the balls scattered around, it looked like he was practicing by himself.

"I often stay behind to help a friend practice."

"A friend? But there's no one here but us," she looked around to assure her statement. "You weren't talking about an imaginary friend, were you? I'm not sure I can see him."

"He's not an imaginary friend," he laughed. "He's been standing right beside you the whole time."

"But I saw no- HOLY MOTHER," Shirayuki got this mini heart attack when she saw a light blue-haired guy beside her that (she was sure) wasn't there before. _Where did he come from?_

"Narita, this is Kuroko Tetsuya. Tetsu, this is Narita Shirayuki," Aomine introduced them. "You have to get used to his unpresence, Narita."

The guy named Kuroko slightly bowed politely, she bowed back.

"AH!" she noticed something. "You're the ghost guy from this morning! I haven't said thanks. Thank you."

"That was nothing," he replied. His voice was exactly like she remembered; toneless.

"Ghost guy?" Aomine asked her.

"He warned me about something but when I wanted to thank him he was already gone," she explained. "I was so sure he was a hallucination."

"Sounds like him," Aomine chuckled. "He _does _lack of presence."

"I'm right here Aomine-kun," Kuroko said to him.

"But that's the truth Tetsu."

"I better get going. I don't want to disturb your practice and Akashi-kun is probably waiting for me. He's going to walk me home," Shirayuki didn't realize Kuroko was flinched a bit when he heard Akashi's name. "Bye guys."

Akashi was indeed waiting for her in front of the gym.

"Sorry, did you wait long?" The raven black-haired girl asked him.

"No, I just arrived," he replied. "Are they still practicing?"

Akashi glanced to the second gym.

"Yes," she answered. "You know about their practice?"

"I do," he smiled rather mysteriously. "Now, let's go."

* * *

"You're quite calm for a girl who just got locked in a laundry room."

Shirayuki glanced at him, bemused with the sudden statement. _Was locked in the room that big deal?_

"Someone was locked in there last week, and let's just say that person was kind of hysterical," he  
explained. "Well maybe it was due to the ghost rumor."

Again, she had no idea about what's going on in her own school. _What ghost rumor?_

She decided to brush-off the ghost part and instead asked: "You want me to burst into tears or screaming hysterically right now?"

"'Course no," the red-haired guy responded. "Just wondered if it has something to do with kyuudou."

"How do yo- let me guess... The wall magazine," she realized.

He didn't answer.

"Maybe," she continued. "Say, back in the laundry room, how did you know I was in there?"

"When I was about to leave after I finished all my works in the gym, I heard someone sing. Honestly, at first I thought the ghost rumor was true," he chuckled a bit. "But then I remember about you who helped Momoi today_—_she texted me. By the way, you shouldn't have forgot about money when you're about to buy something, Narita-san."

"_He asked me to. He said you're replacing Momoi's job today but you forgot asking the money from me."_

"So you were the one who asked Midorima to go after me when I bought the drinks?" she questioned him.

"You were careless," he said. It wasn't an accusation, more like sympathy.

"I was sleepy," she defended herself.

He didn't respond at that.

They were almost arrived at her house and she decided to spoke up: "Do you always stare at people when you first met them Akashi-kun? It irks me."

Shirayuki had tried to hold her bluntness but she couldn't take it anymore.

Akashi was astonished by her straightforwardness but keep his tone composed: "You noticed?"

"You were and _are_ ogling me," she replied. "I don't want to mention this but you keep doing that ever since you opened that laundry room. Are you predicting something? If you want to figure something out about me you could just ask me."

"I don't predict, I analyze."

"Excuse me?"

"I know you're into kyuudou not because of the wall magazine you talked about. I saw scars on your cheek and your fingers. You're also very composed regardless of what you've been through today. That's how I know you're into kyuudou."

"Not bad," she admitted.

"Ah, you also tend to speak your mind bluntly."

...

...

...

...

"Wow," she said finally. "You do irk me Akashi-kun."

* * *

**THE DAILY HOROSCOPE**

**Cancer (21 June – 22 July)**

Interesting thing will happen today! You'll meet a person who might look like a damsel in distress at first. But the person will hang around you and your friends and bring something new in the future. Bad or good? You decide!

**Lucky item: **Flask

**Love:** Around the corner

**Financial:** Don't spend too much on food!

* * *

**A.N.**

It's a pain for me to make Shira looked useless because she's not Mary Sue _she's not_ **_she's not!_**

Wait till the next chapter :(

thank you for reading! feedback is sunshine

later!

flowers


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